American Crossroads

"Tracing the banjo from its West African roots to the New World, I perform musical examples from the 1700's to the present day on a variety of vintage instruments," says Evans. The instruments range from an African ekonting to a mid-19th century minstrel banjo, a modern bluegrass banjo and even an electric banjo.

Gurf Morlix inhabits "the muddy": the fecund reading room of a library of idioms encompassing folk, country, and blues. Morlix sings in a tone somehow both affectless and mournful, as if a shadow of death had already crept in and half-zombified his emotions. Part of the pleasure in his new album, his first of original songs in three years, derives from the contrast between scenery and focus: the suffusive sadness of the melodies, the stark and rootsy Americana sounds, and the mordant lyrics, set against the insistent hint of a residual innocence in Morlix's broad, flat vocal delivery..

Lightnin’ rarely strayed from his unique “yin-yang” approach to the blues. He was a country blues guitarist who learned his craft at the feet of fellow Texan Blind Lemon Jefferson, a true master of the form. Yet he spent much of his career on the streets of Houston, often using stream-of-consciousness lyrics to describe tough characters and situations that were familiar to many urban blacks. And whether he sang or spoke those lyrics, his laconic delivery never seemed to soften the menace of his razor-sharp guitar

Canadian songwriter Lindi Ortega wasn't exactly born into country music, but she can channel her inner Johnny Cash like nobody's business. She's hit her stride on the new album, Cigarettes & Truckstops

Harris virtually evaporated into art-Americana steam with Hard Bargain. Here, she's reunited with the songwriter Crowell, and, perhaps more decisively, her old producer Brian Ahern. The result is an album of solid country virtue. Rodders was never much of a voice, and Emmylou's ain't what it used to be, but she can still make "wistful" fly like an angel, when conditions suit. Four songs by Crowell, the rest covers, several by her old pedal-steel player, Hank DeVito.

Hailed as one of rock’s best drummers and one of its greatest voices, Levon Helm’s history proves as exciting as his music. A look at his lively life

One of the most important acts in the development of American music is The Everly Brothers. Phil and Don Everly had that spirited, "genetic" country harmony sound common to country and bluegrass groups, and they transposed that to rock 'n' roll in the Fifties. Virtually every group in rock, country, and folk music featuring harmonies, from The Beatles to Teenage Fanclub, owes them a debt. The duo of alt-country singer Bonnie "Prince" Billy (aka Will Oldham) and alt-folk doyenne Dawn McCarthy (aka Faun Fables) pay tribute to the Brothers, but not in the usual manner. What the Brothers Sang forgoes the Brothers' hits in favor of lesser-known gems in their catalog, highlighting the Everlys as bridges between rock and country, folk and pop